


Of Solstices and Equinoxes

by boats_birds



Series: KagaKuro Month 2014 [1]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Fluff, M/M, cheesy fluff, in which kagami and kuroko are dorks all year long, kagakuromonth2014
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-16
Updated: 2014-10-16
Packaged: 2018-02-21 08:27:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2461535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boats_birds/pseuds/boats_birds
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kuroko falls in love like summer. Kagami falls in love like winter. It figures, that even in this aspect, they would be opposites.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of Solstices and Equinoxes

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't posted any of my writing in a looong time, so I'm really nervous and embarrassed about this. But! these are my favorite dorks and I'm so excited for kagakuromonth that I couldn't help but do something for it. I had to go with all of the seasons cause I'm an indecisive little shit. For the prompt 'Seasonal'.

Kuroko falls in love like summer.

It’s fast and reckless, leaving his heart with a mild sunburn that just serves to warm his chest. It beats down on him like the glaring sun, and makes him feel as if he were about to combust into flames. To make matters worse, it’s with a boy every bit as wild as the summer wind itself.

Kagami dribbles the ball down the court, Kuroko trailing behind him in a vain attempt to stop him. It’s no different from their usual. They both know Kagami will win with minimal effort, but the joy of warm light and the comfort of textured rubber keeps their legs moving and their laughter bright.

Until Kuroko stops, bent over with his hands on his knees.

“Let’s…take a break…Kagami-kun,” he manages between huffs of moist air.

A snort, and Kuroko hears the familiar swish of basketball scraping net, “You go ahead. I mean, it’s been a rough,” a pause, “ten minutes.”

“Don’t patronize me, Kagami-kun.”

He shuffles over to their bench, reaching to scratch Nigou behind the ears while grabbing his water bottle. Dropping heavily next to his folded uniform and wiping his brow with a sweatband, he takes a heavy pull of water and fixates on Kagami’s play.

As he watches the orange basketball fly through the hoop, Kuroko can’t help the pull of a smile in the corner of his lips. There had always been something about Kagami’s style of basketball that was so joyful and free, like Kagami was dribbling his own small sun. Even now, as he simply shoots and runs in his own game against imaginary opponents, his body moves like the soaring of bird wings.

Kagami suddenly stops to turn towards him, ball propped on his hip, and he drags the back of his hand across his chin. His grin is as wide as the clear skies above them, and Kuroko remembers childhood warnings to not look directly at the sun.

“C’mon, Kuroko! It’s not the same without you!”

It hits him much like the bang of a firework.

To be honest, he enjoys fireworks, the heat of summer causing the colors to melt across the sky, but only when he knows they’re coming. This one comes from nowhere, but feels like it had always been there, and he understands why everyone scolds him for sneaking up on them. It’s loud, and it’s red.

_He loves Kagami._

Kagami’s eyebrow arches in confusion, “You alright? You look surprised, which is just...weird. You’re generally the one shocking people.”

He smiles and nods, “I’m fine, Kagami-kun. I just thought a vanilla milkshake sounds pleasant right now.”

“Yeah, we’ll stop on the way back. But let’s play a little bit more first!” A smile kissed by the sun itself, and Kuroko realizes that he’s jealous of a burning sphere of gas.

Setting his bottle aside, he gives Nigou another pat on the head before running to join Kagami on the court, reaching to steal the ball even as Kagami tugs it out of his reach.

Kuroko falls in love like summer.

It’s fast and reckless, and he’s not prepared for the sunburn. His mind shifts like the increasing heat, and clicks into place ninety degrees too hot. It’s stifling like the humid air, suffocating him in a sticky warmth, but it’s so pleasant inside his chest that he wants to curl up in it. He’s a shadow, a bitter darkness, but he’s enraptured with a boy as bright as summer itself.

 

* * *

 

Being together is like autumn.

Without ever talking about it, without anything even changing, the tension rises between them like the first leaf to fall. The lines they’d so carefully drawn begin to blur like the reds and yellows of the trees, shifting until none of the original green remains. Life is stuck in a horizon of melancholy, summer gone and winter approaching, and so are they.

The crunch of leaves on sidewalk echoes off the buildings, and their hands are buried deep in the recesses of jacket pockets. Basketball season has started, so they keep busy with practice, but even their favorite sport can’t distract them from the breath that hangs heavy between them.

Kagami exhales white fog with a roll of his shoulder, “Man, coach has been brutal lately.”

“We want to protect our title as number one in Japan, it’s to be expected.” Kuroko’s words are calm and agreeable, but Kagami hears the tired lilt. He doesn’t miss the excited undertone when mentioning their national status either, and he answers with a flash of teeth.

“It’s not ‘want’, right? We _will_ protect it!”

They walk in companionable silence, enjoying the simple sounds of city life and nature shifting. Until Kagami spots a haphazard pile of leaves built near their street court. Kuroko knows this can only end in no good, there’s something about the dead foliage that makes his muscles tighten, and the wildfire glint in Kagami’s eyes certainly doesn’t help.

 _Especially_ when that glint is directed right at him.

“Don’t even think about it, Kagami-kun.”

He turns towards him, and Kuroko finds his tall build particularly frustrating in this instance.

“I mean it,” he tries for threatening, but he’s not exactly intimidating with a backwards step.

A smirk as unruly as his red hair spreads to his cheeks, “Thought about it.”

Then strong arms are tugging him up, the corded muscles tight on his waist. Pressed closer than should be, Kagami clumsily walks them towards the pile as Kuroko’s feet dangle above the ground. He struggles, as much as he can anyways, ineffectively pushing on biceps, but Kagami has never been easily deterred from anything.

“Kagami-kun, put me down!”

The smirk grows wider, “If you say so.”

And Kuroko finds himself dropped unceremoniously into a pile of red and gold decay.

He glares up, nose slightly scrunching, and he wants to kick Kagami right in his smug shins, even with knowing the coach would kill him. He opens his mouth, ready to scold Kagami for his blatant abuse of verbal loopholes, when the redhead drops into the pile of leaves with a jump and a laugh. A flurry of crunching stems and flashing colors, and Kuroko’s unsure of what’s happening.

Suddenly, he’s staring into eyes as wide as own, and he sees his own burgundy reflection staring back as Kagami leans over him.

Time stills like the hush of first frost, and their dragon breaths mix white together. Their elbows and knees lock tight, anticipation coursing through the joints with the sound of rustling leaves. A large, tanned hand reaches towards him, causing a flush to pink the tips of his ears. The calloused fingertips brush through his bangs, ruffling the hair in a familiar yet so foreign manner, and he feels the burn of their graze against his forehead.

Then Kagami’s pulling away, clearing his throat, “Uh, sorry. You had...um, a leaf in your hair. I got it.”

Disappointment clenches tight on Kuroko’s bones like the coming of winter. But he smiles.

“Oh, thank you, Kagami-kun.”

Kagami pauses as he stands, and then that hand is held out to him, grasping his own to hoist him up like so many times before. They dust off their leaves, grab their things that were dropped without care, and continue on in not-so-comfortable silence.

Being together is like autumn.

They cling and they cling to the familiarity that makes their friendship so comfortable, but Kuroko can feel them tiptoe-dancing along the precipice. Just one wrong move, one slight nudge, and they’ll tumble over the edge. Maybe it’s just him, maybe it’s just wishful thinking, or maybe he’s just a bad dancer. Either way, he finds himself wanting to twirl and take a free fall.

 

* * *

 

Kagami falls in love like winter.

It’s slow and cautious, leaving his muscles locked and cold, unable to move or bend. It moves on him like time, unhurried with the freeze of icicles and snowflakes, but when it arrives, it’s as quiet as snowfall. To make matters worse, it’s with a boy every bit as heartwarming as the winter chill itself.

Kagami shuffles where he stands, cupping his hands to his mouth to breathe hotly on chilled fingers. Winter fell in thick blankets all around them, cotton spreading over rooftops and sidewalks. He’s still not used to this kind of cold, California was so much warmer and there certainly wasn’t any (he scowls) _snow_. He huddles further into his coat and shifts closer to the small warmth beside him.

“Are you that cold, Kagami-kun?” The question is muffled by a soft, blue scarf wrapped around Kuroko’s face, the boy shuffling to look at Kagami, and he wants to laugh because it’s more of a waddle Kuroko has so many layers on.

Like so many times in the past months, possibly since he’s known him, Kagami just stops and looks at Kuroko. He takes in the black beanie, the sky eyes, the heavy scarf, the pink cheeks, the slight smile, the concern, _everything_. He’s tried putting it into words, he really has, but his writing has always been sloppy.

All he can think, in his stupid Kagami-speak, is ‘ _cute_ ’.

Glancing away from the bus stop where they wait, he tucks his hands deeper in his pockets, “S’just c-colder than L.A., that’s all.”

“You’re shivering though.”

His teeth clatter when he answers, “S-shut up! I know that. Stupid b-bus should be here already…”

Then his vision is obscured, and he has fluffy warmth wrapped around his neck. And part of his head.

It takes him a moment, longer than it should, as he stares between Kuroko and the blue scarf brushing against his skin. Kuroko isn’t looking at him, instead looking up at icy clouds, and Kagami’s enthralled with the snowflakes reflecting in those big eyes. Kuroko’s always seemed serene, but now he’s just…

Kagami buries his face in the material, though his blush is doing a good job of warming him. He knocks his shoulder against Kuroko’s and leans there, “Thanks.”

A gentle exhale that Kagami recognizes as a laugh and a nudge returned, “Anything for you, Kagami-kun.”

It hits him much like the first drink of hot cocoa.

He loves hot cocoa—hell, he loves _all_ food, but there’s something about the first warm drink when the weather turns chilled and numb. It somehow makes everything seem right about the holiday season, the heat spreading into marrow and settling deep to melt frozen muscles. It reminds him of his family at Christmas, of the happiness and grins that come with just being with people you love. It’s so warm, and it’s comforting.

 _He loves Kuroko_.

His muscles tense like ice, and Kuroko tilts his head in a gesture way too similar to Nigou, “Is everything alright, Kagami-kun? Are you still cold?”

He blinks, staring dumbly at his best friend, “Yeah, I just…I think I like you.”

Blue eyes freeze wide, cheeks peppermint red, “What?”

He feels the heat on his face, and he can’t look him in the eye so he looks the other way, “I said I like you. I have for a while probably. Sorry.”

A shuffle and a pressure, then a little, freezing-cold hand is pressed into his pocket, where it twines with his own. He hisses at the cold, but otherwise stands still, neither of them looking at the other.

“Please don’t apologize. I like you too. I have for a while,” a pause, “Probably.”

Kagami snorts as he returns the hold, twisting his larger fingers around smaller and their knuckles tighten together. Their bus pulls to a halt in front of them, and he turns to Kuroko as he steps on, grin spreading dangerously wide on his face.

Kagami falls in love like winter.

It’s slow and cautious, and it leaves his limbs trembling, though for two very different reasons. It moves on him like a soft quilt to bury under and hide from the cold, hushed snowflakes peppering windowpanes. It lays warm in his chest, like sitting in front of an open fireplace, and he wants to always sit there, wrapped around this little, warmhearted person. He’s been called a light, a glowing brightness, but he’s enraptured with a boy who shines like the moon.

 

* * *

 

Loving each other is like spring.

Without ever talking about it, without anything even changing, they piece together like the first cherry blossoms on tree branches. Their lines are redefined, and so new, like the green grass that sprouts from previously frozen earth. Life is beginning again, brimming with the promise of happiness and rain, and so are they.

Kuroko exhales like a warm breeze, and Kagami’s skin blooms to life, chills spreading like flower petals on the back of his neck. Raindrop kisses fall across his shoulder blades before Kuroko shifts even closer, pressing his forehead to his spine and nuzzling there. Pale, slim arms wrap around his waist, and he grabs the hands before they can trail up his chest.

“I told you, it’s not ready yet,” he scolds, but it’s not so intimidating when he tugs to place his lips against Kuroko’s fingertips.

 A small bite on the wing of his shoulder, “I know, but it smelled good. How much longer?”

He switches the stove off and turns to pull Kuroko close by the hips, returning the bite on his neck, “As long as it takes for our lunches. We won’t be late, so chill.”

He grips and lifts Kuroko up, walking them over to the couch while Kuroko’s arms wind around his neck to tangle in the short hair on his nape. They plop onto the sofa, twisted in each other, and just sit. Kagami lazily trails his fingers under Kuroko’s shirt and Kuroko lazily keens under Kagami’s touch, and it’s just their usual.

A weight sinks beside them on the couch, causing Kagami to tense before hiding his face in Kuroko, “Kuroko, tell him to get off the couch.”

A happy bark, “But Nigou loves the couch. He wants to spend more time with you.”

Pulling away from soft skin takes more of an effort than he thought, but he manages, and he glares into innocently wide eyes. “He can spend time with me off of the couch.”

“So you do want to spend time with Nigou. Then we can take him with us to the flower viewing.”

Kagami groans and sinks further down the couch, arms squeezing Kuroko in what they both know is a sign of defeat, “Fine, fine. But you have to hold his leash.”

“Okay, deal,” Kuroko’s voice is airy like spring wind, and his smile blossoms across his face.

Then their lips are pressed together and the butterflies in their stomachs fly into the living room. Kagami can taste that smile and it causes his own to bloom to life, because dammit, he’s just so happy. They move like a stream, Kagami’s arms tightening on feather-light bones and Kuroko’s nails scratch across his scalp.

They pull away, stare at each other in lavender light, and laugh.

Loving each other is like spring.

They cling and they cling to each other, the familiarity and the new ground there making their heads dizzy with happiness. Kagami can feel them falling and clicking into place, like they’d just been waiting for it to happen. Maybe it’s just him, maybe it’s just wishful thinking, or maybe he’s just in love. Either way, he finds himself burying his face in Kuroko’s hair as his arms curl around his waist, and he feels like he’s free falling.


End file.
